While archiving my images on these long 'offline' days I came across a lot of street views, morning lights, surface details and beautiful persons, whom I met throughout the years in all kinds of places. I wish I could be there again.
When people ask me how the symposium went, I can't help smiling and saying: it was quite a success. My perfectionist mind has to admit the fact that all speakers were generous in what they shared, their presentations were well thought-out, the visuals were dynamic (with the usual technical disclaimers), and the audience was alert and engaged all day. The Gerritzen-Krier duo (our first) proved fruitful, because Mieke [Gerritzen] can package content like no other - she zips it, labels it and condenses it, so that it remains readable and digestable to all, where I tend to differentiate more and more, at the risk of losing sight of the original stakes of the day. The day got a fresh reset with every Lucky TV interlude, which were selected to fit the day's rhythm.
What were we looking for, originally? We wanted to know how to become 'media savvy' (something both Henk Oosterling and Geert Lovink talk about in the accompanying journal). We also wanted to know if the online world can teach us new modes of critical (read: selective) thinking. Along the way, I hoped that we would be able to identify what a "qualitative online experience" would look and feel like. This question came up while preparing the day's debate (which, due to time issues, had to be greatly shortened, unfortunately) with Henk and Koert [van Mensvoort]. We reasoned over a glass of wine, that if you know how to identify quality online, and you can describe that experience, then you are probably looking at new criteria of quality in of the online-offline visual era. And if you have identified those you also know what kind of (non)infrastructure you need to nurture and foster that kind of quality. But of course it's not that easy.
So did we find what we were looking for? Not quite, as always. Three bloggers plus special reporter Robbert van Strien did track the day's numerous insights here, here, here, here and here. I think that the gathered energy of the day (over 250 people braving a Saturday snow storm, our keynote speaker included, is worth taking note of) has put our question on the cultural agenda (see the Volkskrant article published on the Monday after) - and I think the day simply asks for a second edition next year. My starting point would be "a possible semantics of the visual", a quest which Rick Poynor referred to in his talk, combined with "oxymoron aesthetics" - inspired by Bruce Sterling's invigorating, forward-looking plea entitled Revisions of the Digital.
To be continued...
BLURRR is an exhibition about blurring boundaries in today's artistic practices. Curator Mariëtte Dolle invited me to take part alongside 8 others, and in our first talks she told me that her two keywords for my way of working (she has keywords for all the artists she works with) were "doubt" and "challenge". I don't mind. Especially because Mariëtte's gaily inquisitive, 'jet set' mind helped me to see more clearly where I stand, and what is important to me. Thank you also Erik for advising me at the last moment (full of doubts...) on how to display the spin-offs of my practice, and on the title (still not sure about Ongetwijfeld - Undoubtly- though...).
BLURRR 9 september – 15 november 2009
Nina Boas, Iddo Drevijn, Sophie Krier, Walter Langelaar, Gyz La Rivière, Strange Attractors, Studio Spass, Esmé Valk, Volksrekorders
Met BLURRR verkent TENT. een ontluikende culturele praktijk in de energieke Rotterdamse kunstwereld: jonge kunstenaars leggen zich niet meer toe op één bezigheid of beroep, maar manifesteren zich en meer als multitaskers.
(...)
[achterzaal] Sophie Krier was de afgelopen jaren hoofd van de afdeling designLAB aan de Gerrit Rietveld Academie te Amsterdam. In haar eigen ontwerppraktijk richt Krier tentoonstellingen in, schrijft zij columns en essays en maakt films. In december 2008 brandde haar atelier af, en daarmee ook haar gehele archief van werken, boeken en andere inspiratiebronnen. Krier gebruikt haar aanwezigheid in TENT. om de kern van haar werk opnieuw te onderzoeken. Waar staat zij, wat is belangrijk en hoe nu verder? In een wandreliëf met kartonnen maquettes inventariseert Sophie Krier plaatsen waar zij heeft gewerkt of waar zij van droomt om ooit te werken. In de videofilm ‘En Garde’ trekt Krier als een hedendaagse Don Quichotte ten strijde tegen Fort Asperen. In de animatie ‘Kabouterrevolutie’ portretteert Krier 62 kabouters waarop Nieuw-Vennepse kinderen afgelopen zomer hun wensen voor hun stad projecteerden, als onderdeel van het project Lang Leve De Tijdelijkheid. Op drie tafels – een tafel met het verleden, een tafel met work-in-progress en één met toekomstplannen - onderzoekt Sophie haar bronnen, handschrift en ambities.
